IT firm Kainos is to float on the London Stock Exchange from Friday in an initial public offering that values the company at £161.3 million.
The Belfast based firm will be just the third from Northern Ireland to float on the main exchange alongside First Derivatives and UTV Media.
Kainos said the offer is expected to raise £52.4m of gross proceeds for selling shareholders, which includes QUBIS Limited, former group employees, Kainos’ executive directors and other individuals.
A small primary offering of up to 1,160,393 new ordinary shares is being made available to employees of the group..
The company which provides IT services, consulting and software solutions was founded in April 1986 as a joint venture between ICL and QUBIS.
It specialises across multiple sectors in the development of digital technology solutions; software design and agile software development; third-party software integration and implementation services; technology support services; and related ancillary services such as project management.
The group has around 730 staff across its seven offices and announced plans to take on an additional 400 workers earlier this year.
Kainos CEO Brendan Mooney said: “All of us at Kainos are delighted with the response we have seen to our IPO. The recognition investors have shown towards our business, our services and our leading position stands as testament to the hard work and commitment of our international team. The task for us now is simple – to maintain our growth trajectory. We have a clearly defined strategy in place to see that happen and are looking forward to life as a listed company.”
